中国AI市场的资本流向：从广泛投资到精准集中

Where Capital Is Flowing inChina’s AI Market Institutional Research Group Melanie TngResearch Analyst,APAC Private Capitalmelanie.tng@pitchbook.com From broad investment to targeted concentration Adi GeorgeData Analystpbinstitutionalresearch@pitchbook.comPublished on May 15, 2026 PitchBook is a Morningstar company providing the most comprehensive, mostaccurate, and hard-to-find data for professionals doing business in the private markets. Key takeaways Contents Key takeaways1Introduction2Capital formation in China’s AI marketremains resilient but increasingly selective2Capital is concentrating in enterprisesoftware, hardware systems,and semiconductors8China’s AI VC market is increasingly shapedby domestic and strategic investors12Exit activity is recovering, but liquidityremains selective and domestically anchored14Conclusion17References18 •AI continues to outperform within China’s broader VC slowdown, but capitaldeployment is becoming more selective. While overall venture activity remainsbelow 2021 peaks, AI accounts for a growing share of total VC investment, withfunding increasingly concentrated in fewer, larger, and later-stage transactions. •China’s AI investment landscape is shifting toward infrastructure andenterprise deployment. VC is increasingly flowing into business & productivitysoftware, compute hardware, and semiconductors, reflecting strongerdemand for scalable enterprise applications and AI infrastructure rather thanconsumer-facing experimentation. •Semiconductors and compute infrastructure have become central strategicpriorities. Rising investment in AI chips and hardware systems reflects boththe growing importance of domestic compute capacity and broader effortsto strengthen technological self-sufficiency amid geopolitical and supplychain constraints. •The investor base is becoming more domestically anchored and strategicallydriven. VC remains important, but corporates, CVCs, and government-linked investors are playing a larger role in supporting capital-intensive andstrategically aligned AI segments, while nondomestic participation remainscomparatively limited. •Exit pathways remain viable, though liquidity conditions are more constrained andregionalized. Public listings continue to account for most of the exit value, withHong Kong emerging as the dominant listing venue, while longer time-to-exit trendsreflect the increasing scale, complexity, and capital intensity of AI businessesin China. Introduction PitchBook’s prior analyst noteson AI venture activity in Asia-Pacific (APAC) examineddeal flows throughout the region and the specialization of individual markets acrossthe AI value chain. In both analyses, China consistently emerged as the dominant forcein regional AI investment by deal value, supported by its scale, industrial depth, andsustained policy focus on strategic technologies. This note builds on that foundation by focusing specifically on China, exa mining howcapital is being deployed within its AI ecosystem, the investor dynamics shaping thatdeployment, and the implications for institutional investors assessing exposure tothe market. China’s AI venture landscape is evolving under a more constrained and complex setof conditions than in prior cycles. Slower domestic growth, tighter global liquidity, andongoing geopolitical tensions—particularly around technology access and cross-border capital flows—are reshaping both the availability of capital and t he sectors inwhich it is allocated. At the same time, national priorities around technological self-sufficiency and industrial upgrading continue to anchor investment in areas such assemiconductors, advanced hardware, and enterprise AI. Against this backdrop, China’s AI venture market is becoming more selective. Capitalis increasingly concentrated in a narrower set of segments aligned with nationalgoals and later-stage companies, while nondomestic participation has declined anddomestic investors, including corporates and state-linked funds, play a more centralrole in sustaining deal activity. This note answers the following question: How is China’s AI venture market evolvingunder tightening capital conditions and geopolitical constraints, and where is capitalconcentrating as a result? Capital formation in China’s AI market remains resilientbut increasingly selective AI investment in China has remained comparatively resilient despite a broaderslowdown in VC activity. While total VC deal value has declined sharply from its 2021peak, AI-related investment has held up in relative terms and continues to account fora growing share of overall venture deployment. By 2024, AI represented 20.5% of totalVC deal value in China, up from 11.7% in 2023; it remained elevated at 19.6% in 2025. This resilience, however, masks a structural shift in how capital is being committed. Inabsolute terms, China’s AI deal value peaked at $23.3 billion in 2021 before decliningto $7.8 billion in 2023, followed by a modest recovery to aroun